Sir, - The ink was hardly dry on the Bacon report when developers lodged planning applications with Dublin Corporation for high-rise, high density apartment complexes in the suburbs. These are four, five and even six stories high. The report says that zoned drained land is at a premium and that small, well-designed houses are needed. Developers seem to have taken that as a signal to offer apartments rather than houses to young couples. The reason the Bacon report was commissioned in the first place was that young couples couldn't keep up with the spiralling cost of houses.
How can young couples bring up children in such restricted spaces? Where's the garden, even a small one, a safe place to grow and play? The evidence is that houses are wanted, as Dublin couples move to Drogheda, Dundalk, Meath and even Westmeath.
The catch-cry has gone up that renting, not buying, is the future. God help us all if that's what we're facing. Only 20 per cent of those letting property have registered with the State as required. These people have the whip hand where rent is concerned and tenants are at their mercy.
Next month the Minister for the Environment will publish a paper for discussion on higher residential densities. It is essential that local communities and residents' associations make submissions in their interest. Otherwise, the building industry and developers will make the running on this subject.
There's eating and drinking in the matter of housing for the upcoming local elections. - Yours, etc., Kathryn Mulready,
Calderwood Road, Dublin 9.